Keywords: somalia mogadishu afgoye amisom somali national army security operation free-shabelle freeshabelle Ugandan soldiers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are seen manning an armoured personnel carrier 26 May 2012 as they line-up as part of a convoy in the town of Afgoye to the west of the Somali capital Mogadishu in preparation to deploy south of the town on the road to Merka. An joint-AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) offensive has driven the Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group Al Shabaab from the strategically important area of the Afgoye corridor, which the group used as a base to launch attacks inside Mogadishu and is also home to hundreds of thousands of refugees. With the extremists gone, the area is now secure for humantarian aid to reach the internally displaced peoples camps and opens the road between the agriculturally productive area of Afgoye and the Somali capital, allowing freedom of movement of goods, produce and people alike. AU-UN IST PHOTO / STUART PRICE. Ugandan soldiers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are seen manning an armoured personnel carrier 26 May 2012 as they line-up as part of a convoy in the town of Afgoye to the west of the Somali capital Mogadishu in preparation to deploy south of the town on the road to Merka. An joint-AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) offensive has driven the Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group Al Shabaab from the strategically important area of the Afgoye corridor, which the group used as a base to launch attacks inside Mogadishu and is also home to hundreds of thousands of refugees. With the extremists gone, the area is now secure for humantarian aid to reach the internally displaced peoples camps and opens the road between the agriculturally productive area of Afgoye and the Somali capital, allowing freedom of movement of goods, produce and people alike. AU-UN IST PHOTO / STUART PRICE. Ugandan soldiers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are seen manning an armoured personnel carrier 26 May 2012 as they line-up as part of a convoy in the town of Afgoye to the west of the Somali capital Mogadishu in preparation to deploy south of the town on the road to Merka. An joint-AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) offensive has driven the Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group Al Shabaab from the strategically important area of the Afgoye corridor, which the group used as a base to launch attacks inside Mogadishu and is also home to hundreds of thousands of refugees. With the extremists gone, the area is now secure for humantarian aid to reach the internally displaced peoples camps and opens the road between the agriculturally productive area of Afgoye and the Somali capital, allowing freedom of movement of goods, produce and people alike. AU-UN IST PHOTO / STUART PRICE. army security national somali operation somalia mogadishu afgoye amisom freeshabelle